Society

Heroic Vietnamese Mother Tran Thi Hao - the one who stays after separations

Tien Dong - Technique: Hong Toai • September 12, 2025 15:05

Perhaps among the Vietnamese Heroic Mothers who were awarded the title in peacetime, Mrs. Tran Thi Hao is the one who had to endure the most pain after the great separations in her life. From her father who fell in the resistance war against America to her only son who sacrificed in faraway Africa during the United Nations peacekeeping mission...

Tien Dong /Technique:Hong Toai• 09/12/2025

In the days when the whole country was jubilantly celebrating the 80th anniversary of National Day, September 2, we had the opportunity to meet and talk with Vietnamese Heroic Mother Tran Thi Hao on the occasion of her return from Hanoi to visit her hometown. Her small house is nestled among the trees in Thien Nhan commune (Trung Phuc Cuong commune, old Nam Dan district) - a peaceful village located on the Lam River. In her story with us, her memories appeared as real as a slow-motion film. There, she had to endure many losses and sacrifices, but it was also an epic about resilience, about the indomitable tradition of a family, and about maternal love filled with loss so that the country and the world could have peace today.

Heroic Vietnamese Mother Tran Thi Hao was born in 1957. She is probably a rare woman who carries within herself sacred identities, as she is the granddaughter of a Heroic Vietnamese Mother, the daughter of a martyr, the mother of a martyr and also a Heroic Vietnamese Mother.

Ms. Hao said that since childhood, she was raised in the atmosphere of a loyal family, where patriotism and sacrifice for the Fatherland became a daily routine. Her grandmother was the heroic Vietnamese mother Dang Thi Phiet, a woman who once hid revolutionary cadres in her house, and suffered many painful losses when her three sons all fell in the resistance war.

Among them was her father - martyr Tran Dinh Huong. Martyr Tran Dinh Huong was a steadfast revolutionary cadre who worked with revolutionary Tran Dinh San (1907-1974), then continued to devote himself to the route of transporting food to support the South. At that time, the country was divided, the transport of food, medicine, weapons and ammunition to the South had to be carried out by many routes, from road, river, to sea. Those routes were extremely difficult as the cadres and soldiers had to find every way to hide, helping the trips to be safe. To avoid detection by the enemy, the boats had to weave through many rivers, cross forests, and cross mountain passes. In 1966, on a trip, when the boat carrying food to the South, when it reached Quang Binh, it was discovered and bombed by the enemy. He sacrificed himself, leaving behind his wife and 7 young children, of which, the 6th daughter Tran Thi Hao had just turned 9 years old.

"The day my father died, my mother could only hug her children and cry. We, the young children, did not have time to fully understand the pain of losing our father. From then on, the family fell into a state of both mourning and deprivation. But it was also in hardship that we understood more deeply the spirit of sacrifice that our father and previous generations had experienced," Hao's mother recounted.

After the country was completely liberated in 1975, life gradually returned to peace, but the wounds of war still deeply imprinted in each family. With revolutionary blood and the will of a girl who grew up amidst bombs and bullets, in 1979, Ms. Hao volunteered to join the army. She was assigned to Warehouse K602, General Department of Defense Industry, located in Thai Nguyen. The years of military service further honed her discipline, perseverance and the toughness of a soldier.

After years of working in the army, it was the military environment that helped her gain more confidence, care for and nurture her only son, Do Anh, to become a soldier. Born in 1983, after graduating from the Military Technical Academy, he worked at the Electronic Warfare Department, then transferred to work as a Mission Assistant, Area Affairs Department, Vietnam Peacekeeping Department.

In 2021, amid the tense Covid-19 pandemic, he was one of nine elite officers of the Vietnam People's Army sent to the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in the Central African Republic. On the day of departure, his eldest daughter was in first grade and his youngest son was just 3 years old. Mrs. Hao saw her children off with great anxiety, because she understood the dangers in the remote African country.

In the green beret uniform, Major Do Anh does not carry a gun to fight directly, but brings his heart and the image of a peaceful Vietnam to international friends.

However, as a cruel fate, in early January 2022, while performing a humanitarian mission, he fell in the middle of a remote Central African country. His teammates tried to take him to a field hospital in Uganda for treatment, but after 5 days of fighting for his life, he breathed his last on January 6, 2022.

Recalling the first days of 2022, Vietnamese Heroic Mother Tran Thi Hao's voice still trembles. She said that day was New Year's Day, the small house was filled with laughter when a delegation of officers from the Vietnam Peacekeeping Department came to visit, wish the family a happy new year and encourage them. But then, after the greetings, they slowly announced that Major Do Anh had an accident while on duty in the Central African Republic and was being transferred to the United Nations Level 3 Field Hospital in the Republic of Uganda for treatment.

The news was like a thunderbolt. In the days that followed, her heart was on fire, waiting and praying, hoping for a miracle to help her save her beloved son. But all hope was lost when just 5 days later, news of her son's sacrifice came. That mother thought she had gotten used to loss, but the pain of losing her only son, her flesh and blood and the hope of her life, still made her collapse. That was a moment she could never forget, a wound that would never heal in her heart.

She choked up as she recalled that when she heard the news of her son's sacrifice, she and her husband felt like they were falling into an endless void, shocked, bewildered, and not knowing where to turn. At that moment, it was the camaraderie of comrades, teammates, neighbors, relatives, friends, and especially the care and wholehearted support of the leaders and commanders of the unit where martyr Do Anh worked that helped the family ease their sadness.

She understood that, whether in wartime or peacetime, the pain of losing a child is equally extreme for any mother. But she also determined that as a soldier, one must accept sacrifice. That loss is not only for the family, but also for the unit and the army. However, her son's sacrifice contributed to making the qualities of "Uncle Ho's soldiers" shine brighter, leaving a beautiful mark in the United Nations peacekeeping mission.

In August 2023, Mrs. Tran Thi Hao was awarded the honorary title of "Heroic Vietnamese Mother" by the President. For Mrs. Hao, the title is not only the State's recognition of her own sacrifices, but also the continuation of her family's tradition. She did not talk much about patriotism, but her whole life was a strong testament to it.

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My son is gone, but he lived the life that he and my family and clan chose. None of us regret our lives if it helps bring peace to the country.”

Heroic Vietnamese Mother Tran Thi Hao

Now, when the pain has gradually subsided over the years, Vietnamese Heroic Mother Tran Thi Hao still quietly shouldered the great responsibility of working together to raise and care for her grandchildren - the children of martyr Do Anh. In her old age, she quietly guided her grandchildren's every step of growth to make up for the void left by their father.

For her, the love for her grandchildren is also a way to continue the love for her sacrificed son, a smoldering fire that helps her overcome the pain and maintain faith in good things. Each smile, each step of her grandchildren is a source of encouragement for her to continue living, to continue to be as persistent as the Lam River of her hometown - flowing quietly, despite having gone through many storms.